Chris Chelios named Blackhawks ambassador: 'Chicago is my hometown'

Nineteen years after the Blackhawks traded Chris Chelios to the Red Wings, the Chicago native is back in the fold.

Chelios, who said last week he was moving back to Chicago from Detroit to be closer to family members, is returning to the organization as an ambassador, the team announced Monday.

The Hawks acquired Chelios in a blockbuster 1990 deal that sent Denis Savard to the Canadiens. He won two of his three Norris Trophies with the Hawks and played nearly nine seasons in his hometown before being traded to the Red Wings in 1999.

Chelios won two Stanley Cups with the Wings before retiring at 48 in 2010. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.

“To be able to join the Blackhawks organization in this role means everything to me,” Chelios said in a statement the team released. “I’m very thankful to Rocky Wirtz and John McDonough for this opportunity to return to the Blackhawks. Chicago is my hometown, and returning to this organization is very special to me and my family.”

Chelios, 56, will be officially introduced at the Blackhawks Convention this weekend.

He joins fellow Hall of Famers Tony Esposito, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Savard as brand ambassadors, a public relations position in which they make appearances at the United Center and around the Chicago area on behalf of the Hawks.